The Cultural Iceberg - USA and Germany

Our second part of the series of cultural differences is that of the Cultural Iceberg. After talking about Gert Hofstede's Cultural Onion in my last article, we will now concentrate on the Iceberg-metaphor that has been around for quite some time as well.

The third article will talk about the "Cultural Glasses" that don't have as much to do with the fundamentals of culture as it does with the way in which the human mind deals with different circumstances.

So... What does an iceberg have to do with culture? In the literal sense, not very much as you can probably imagine.

In order to understand this metaphor better, one needs to look at the whole picture though. The visible part of an iceberg is only a fraction of the massive construct. Though this is just a photomontage by Uwe Kils, the image on the right might represent much better what an iceberg actually looks like in its entirety:

A bit of a visible top, and a whole bunch of stuff under water, invisible to the naked eye. The thing that is visible can only reach out of the water because of the massive block of ice under water. The higher out of the water, the bigger the invisible part.

That's exactly the metaphor used in the Cultural Iceberg. Culture is not only the things you see, but there are a lot of things going on "under water" that are invisible to the eye.

We are going to again use Germany and the US to highlight certain cultural aspects and visible and invisible cultural traits.

The traits that I have listed are of course only a few examples and are in no way completely representative or reliable, but mere stereotypes of both cultures.

The American Iceberg

For Germans, the first thing visible to the cultural eye is the shier size of things. Everything is a bit larger than Germans are used to, be it cars, stores, roads or even drinks. They are also often surprised by the openness and friendliness that is expressed towards them when meeting new people. And even though Germans are not really surprised about it because they have seen it in the movies quite many times, the military plays an important role in everyday life with bumper stickers, parades and special holidays. Those visible traits could be attributed to a multitude of causes. Friendliness and openness towards strangers could be seen as naiveté and the amount of weaponry and military presence could suggest a totalitarian government while it is actually quite the opposite and the military protects the freedom that is at the core of the cultural iceberg.

For every visible action there is an invisible cultural trait underlying and explaining that action. Be it greeting someone at a party (different hand shakes or bows), smiling during conversation(in some countries this would be seen as making fun of someone), or finishing a nice dinner (in some countries you are supposed to leave something on the plate to signal that you can't eat any more while in others, that could even be considered rude).

The German Iceberg

The German culture has very different visible aspects that can be considered. While there are very many similarities between the American and the German iceberg I have only highlighted the differences in this article. The German military has a very different role due to their involvement in WWII and they are therefore very conscious and careful about patriotism and especially nationalism. The German way of speaking is much more reserved and less open and friendly in the beginning. This scepticism doesn't stem from unfriendliness but rather from having a smaller but more tightly knitted social circle. The directness in language also stems from the desire of efficiency in every way possible even though most Germans aren't even aware of the directness of their words. When giving feedback for example it is not uncommon in a German audience to simply and only state the bad things without considering the feelings of the presenter or atmosphere in the room. This is expected and deemed most efficient.

Why should I care?

Well, there are a few reasons. This series is of course very important when considering opening a cross-atlantic partnership. Communication is key and keeping in mind the cultural differences can help immensely with negotiating contracts and even with building networks. When deciding on opening a branch in Germany, this tool can help distinguish between new and bad. Certain comments or behaviors might mean different things in Germany than they would mean in the US.

But this tool can also be important in marketing. When knowing the invisible characteristics of a culture, it is much easier to connect to customers on an emotional level.

If you are looking to open up shop, start a network, partnership or branch, sell products or expand your business in any way to Germany, please let us know, we are happy to help.